Kinderdijk first originated in its name in 1421 from a legend where a wave was said to have washed ashore a cradle that contained a sleeping baby.

 

Boundaries of the village of Kinderdijk

In the Alblasserwaard, problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. Large canals, called weteringen in Dutch, were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil continued to subside, while the level of the river rose due to the river's sand deposits. After a few centuries, an additional way to keep the polders dry was required.

It was decided to build a series of windmills, with a limited capacity to bridge water level differences, but just able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river.

The reservoir could be pumped out into the river by other windmills whenever the river level was low enough; the river level has both seasonal and tidal variations. Although some of the windmills are still used, the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site.

Kinderdijk was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The village is a fascinating rural landscape with a total of 19 monument 18th-century windmills.